That Day

If there was a "wrong" way to do Epcot with the family, I think we nailed it. We took six tired children, two of whom were whining before we even left the camp ground, to a park where the main attractions were learning, shopping and various cocktails that can be made with sparking wine.

After a late start, we got to Epcot around noon time. We started to walk around the International Pavilion. Shopping in the quaint little stores and taking in the different cultures were not Baby and Gummi's idea of a fun time. Also my allergies, who decided that they had enough vacation, were ready to get back to work full strength. By the time we got to France, I was sneezing like I was looking for a world record. I finally had to go to the First Aid station to get Benedryl.

getting an autograph from one of the characters

this one didn't want to sign autographs

When we all reconnected, we went to Mitsukoshi, a Japanese department store and one of my fondest childhood memories. Bo got the three of us ladies pearls, the dear man that he is, and the kids had fun pointing out their favorite Japanese snacks. However, Tater learned a tough lesson about how when you spend money, it doesn't automatically regenerate in your wallet.

After talking Tater out of a meltdown of epic proportion, we had to make a dash to get to our FastPass reservation at the NASA space flight simulation. Now I should have know this was not a good ride for some of us when I saw the sign talking about a green version of the ride being is less strenuous. The sign also mentioned being in small dark spaces. But we put on our brave fronts and marched ahead. The preview video, starring Gary Sinise, told us that if we wanted to opt out of the ride, there was still time to do so. When I requested to do so, the ride attendant told me, "It's not that dark, it's just a big video game!" Now W. Bear had been spooked the previous night by a similar ride and was a bit unsure. However, because of the attendant's assurances, W. Bear and I decided to forge ahead. Next thing we know, we're locked in a tin can. Already I'm having regrets and I'm looking on their control panel for an "abort mission" button. Meanwhile, I'm also making funny conversation to keep W. Bear's mind off of the fact we're in a small tuna can that's about to get smaller. So the ride starts and we're shaking and jostling around, there's a video monitor two inches from my face, Gary keeps telling us to hit some buttons, and I'm trying to lean over and see how W. Bear is faring. He's leaning over to see if I've lost it yet and Gummi is whooping it up like he's Buzz Lightyear. The ride finally ends and we beat a hasty retreat. We meet up with the rest of the gang, who did the more adventurous version of the ride, outside and they all look like they're ready to toss their cookies. We sat and pondered for a while the wisdom of running halfway across the park in this heat so we could ride a vomit-tron.

At this point, Bo and I decided he should take the two little ones back for a nap at the RV. I would take the four older kids to lunch and some other, less nausea inducing rides. After a few hours of wandering around trying to find a ride that was open and bathrooms because we emphasized hydration, we all ended up reconnecting so we could go to our dinner reservation. By this time, Tater is fussing about not having money, the girls are upset with me over a missed meeting, Gummi was still fussy because he didn't nap and Bo is trying to make sure we all don't kill each other. We limped over to our dinner spot which we chose because it was one of the earlier seating times. We did not know it was a German Biergarten in the fullest sense of the term. We walked in while a rather loud leiderhosen clad band was playing the Chicken Dance. I about cried. This is where the flexibility thing comes in. On any other vacation, Bo and I would have conceded defeat, skipped dinner and took everyone home pizza and an early bed time. However, at Disney, if you cancel a dinner reservation with less than 24 hours notice, you have to pay a surcharge of $10 per person. That's $80 for us to skip dinner and go home early. So we forged ahead.

Thankfully, the food was decent, the band took a break shortly after we arrived and after dinner we took one last pleasant - slow - ride through Spaceship Earth. We got back to the RV about 10:00pm

Now I don't want to sound like a complete buzzkill. We are having some enjoyable moments. But there is the nagging feeling of how much time and effort has been spent to put this Disney portion together and in turn a pressing need to take in as much as we can. However, taking in as much as we can does not mesh well with young children, who, whether they acknowledge it or not, need a quiet time midday. There is no 2:00pm caffeine/energy drink pick me up for that set.

So we've changed our strategy for tomorrow. We're going to lounge poolside until after Gummi's nap time and then go to the Hollywood Studios park for the afternoon and evening. Our dinner time is still later than I'd like, but at least the little ones will have had a nap.

I'm so sorry, Pluto.

post script: one of my long held beliefs has been that Goofy is a cow because if he's dog then why is Pluto subjugated to walking on all fours and not talking? Bo found this poster in the art gallery yesterday which he told me was proof that Goofy is indeed a dog (or "dawg") and thus Pluto is getting the really short stick of the deal. I think part of my childhood just died.